Horrormares
by Starkeeper Q
Summary: The Bogeyman has been defeated, but who will spread nightmares now? Jack discovers the new Nightmare Queen,and decides to help her find some believers. But what are these mysterious beings, and what do they want with Jack's new friend? Rated T for caution, no romance.


Jack flew across the sky as Wind carried snow around the world. He chuckled as he threw a snowball at one of the kids on their way home after a long day of school, causing a huge snowball war. But he didn't stay long.

"Wind! Take me home!" he shouted, smiling, as she wrapped around him and carried him to a small lake on the outskirts of Burgess, a small town in Pennsylvania. He landed on the frozen ice and swung his wooden staff over his shoulder. The wind whistled through the trees, asking if it was time to play.

"Not now, you got to get to Russia, remember?" The wind started to pout. For a being with no physical form she sure had a way of expressing her emotions.

"You've got a job to do. Now go on." The whirlwind sighed and jumped in to the air, leaving behind a breeze that blew his white hair, and ruffled the frost on his blue hoodie. As soon as the wind left, he began to slide across the ice on his bare feet, doing figure eights, and twisting and turning every which way in complete peace.

Jack closed his eyes and enjoyed the quiet when, he heard it: a soft whine. His eyes shot open, _I know that sound!_ Jack rounded upon a black horse that was at the edge of his lake. But this wasn't just any black horse: it was a nightmare.

The mare's golden eyes locked on his icy blue ones in an intense staring contest. But, the more Jack looked at her, the less she looked like the nightmares that attacked him and the Guardians last spring. The black dream sand her body was made from looked smoother than the other nightmares. But Jack wasn't taking any chances. He gently pointed his staff at the nightmare—before it turn and ran.

"Hey, wait!" Jack shouted as he gave chase. The nightmare galloped through the forest at full speed. But Jack didn't give up that easily. He ran at a pace that allowed him keep up with the fast-moving mare. It didn't take long for Jack to get close enough to start shooting blasts of ice. But the nightmare was smart. She jumped and made sharp turns, causing the blasts to miss her; instead, the ice hit trees and rocks, freezing them solid.

Jack pursued the mare through the forest, until the black sand creature ran behind a tree. When Jack jumped behind the tree the nightmare had vanished. Jack lowered his staff slowly and looked around.

 _Where'd it go?_ he thought. He then spotted a bed standing alone in the middle of a clearing. Unlike the bed that was used to mark Pitch's lair, this one had a mattress and sheets on it. The covers moved slightly as if inviting him to enter. At this point, Jack had two options. He could ether turn back and forget he ever saw the nightmare, or he could go underneath the bed and hope it wasn't a trap. The distant sound of hooves hitting stone made up his mind.

He was not surprised to find the hole beneath the bed. He was, however, surprised to find a staircase instead of a straight drop down. _That wasn't there in Pitch's lair. But then again this doesn't fell or look like Pitch's style._

As he descended the staircase, it got darker and darker until the only source of light was his slightly glowing staff. Jack had to hold his hand out in front of him so that he wouldn't bump into anything. After a few minutes his hand brushed against something wooden. As he felt around it he soon realized it was a door. He grasped the handle, and with a deep breath, opened it.

Whatever Jack was expecting, it wasn't this. The room was small, and three of the walls were adorned with bookcases filled with volumes written in every language possible. He books in Latin, Greek, and Egyptian, just to name a few. The fourth wall had a lit fireplace with a mantel clock sitting on top of it. In front of the fire, were two armchairs and a small table. On the table there was a China tea set, complete with cream, sugar, a teapot, and two elegant teacups. The whole room seemed inviting, with the warm fire allowing shadows to dance across the walls. It seemed almost peaceful.

 _What in the world is this_ _place?_ _Why would a library be– What was that?_ The sound was soft but loud enough for Jack to hear. He turned towards the corner of the room and saw a bed he hadn't seen when he first scanned the room. The bed was rather small, but it was large enough for the occupant: a girl roughly about his age. She had grayish skin that almost looked like stones and unnaturally long white hair. In fact her hair was so unnatural it looked like it had turned white from fear. The outfit she wore didn't help improve the image, as she wore brown rags that just barely covered her body and looked slightly mud-stained.

But Jack's attention did not stay on the girl for long because the mare he had chased earlier stood to the side of the bed, looking at him for a moment before she dissolved into the shadows. After Jack was sure it was gone, he approached the bed, still cautious in case it was a trap. He shook the odd girl by the shoulder ever so gently, half afraid that she might break.

"Hey, wake up. Hey!" The girl moaned slightly and opened her eyes, Jack's mouth fell open. Her eyes were a soft golden yellow, like dream sand.

"Where am I?" the strange girl asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me. Who are you?"

"I'm not really sure."

"What do you remember?"

"I remember that I was somewhere dark, and cold. Then I saw the moon, and it seemed to chase the darkness away, and then it said something."

"What did the moon say?"

"It said, 'Silhouette Black.' Then I got up and wandered a little while, and I found this place. I feel like it was made for me. Is it all right if I stay?" Jack nodded, not really paying attention anymore as he was lost in thought.

Jack knew that she was a spirit. The moon was the only one who could awaken spirits. But if she was a spirit, then what was her job? All spirits had to have a purpose. He wasn't sure of her just yet. He was pulled out of his thoughts however when the girl gave a loud yawn.

"I'm a little tired. Can I go back to sleep?"

Jack nodded. "Sure."

Jack watched as the strange teenager slept. He took advantage of the time to himself and decided to go have a little talk with the Man in the Moon. Hopefully now that he was a Guardian, Manny would listen to him instead of turning him away like he had all those other times.

He crawled out from underneath the bed and looked up at the moon that was shining brightly above him.

"So, you made a new Spirit?" A beam of moonlight fell on top of him, channeling the calming voice of the Moon.

 _"_ Indeed. But this spirit is not for a new job, but an old _."_

 _So now you answer me?_ Jack thought angrily but turned back to the matter at hand. "And what job would that be?"

 _"_ The job that your enemy failed to complete. _"_

Jack paused allowing the new information to sink in. "Wait a minute! Hold on. Do uou mean to tell me that girl, in there, is going to be the next Nightmare King?" Jack asked in slight horror.

"Yes, but she'll be known the Nightmare Queen _."_ Jack took a deep breath and calmed himself. It was true that Pitch had turned sour, but maybe that girl would be different. He couldn't jump to conclusions; he needed to remain calm. She had a job to do, and that job would help people. Wait, if her job was the same as Pitch's, then…

"You know, I have been meaning to ask you something. Why did you make Pitch in the first place?"

 _"_ I created Pitch to spread courage. The nightmares were supposed to help children deal with their fright. By letting the kids face their fears in their sleep, it was supposed to be easier for them to face them in reality. But Pitch got drunk on the power he held. He failed his job, and he lost his purpose. He was supposed to spread fear with the intent of helping, but he began to spread fear for itself. I held out hope that he would see his error. But when his own nightmares dragged him away, I realized that it was too late to bring him back. So I created Silhouette _."_

"Silhouette? You mean her?" Jack asked as he pointed to the bed.

"Yes, she is Silhouette Black _."_

"I suppose you're going to abandon her, like you did me. How long are you going to let her be alone? Hah? A hundred years? A thousand? How long do you plan on leaving her to her own resources?" He could have sworn that the Moonbeam flinched slightly.

"Jack, I know how you feel about me. And I realized my mistake; I'm sorry. But I'm not going to leave Silhouette alone like I did you. I have to ask something of you. Jack, will you guide Silhouette through the world? Will you help her master her abilities?"

"You mean that you want me to be her teacher?"

"Yes _."_

Jack thought for a moment. He didn't want to help the Man in Moon, after all he had done to him. No way! But if he didn't help, Silhouette would be all alone with no one to help her. He wouldn't wish that fate upon anyone.

"I'll help her, but not because you asked me to. I'm going to help her because I don't want someone to do go through what I did. And I don't forgive you for what you did. Maybe I will someday, but that day isn't today."

"I understand, Jack. Thank you _."_ And with that the Moonbeam vanished. Jack turned toward the bed with the staircase, chuckling slightly as he moved towards it.

"Just wait until Bunny hears that I'm training the new Nightmare Queen. Haha! I can already see the look on his face." With his mind preoccupied Bunny, he didn't notice the two pairs of fierce red eyes watching as he crept beneath the bed.

"So, we have a new Fear Keeper. This is going to be a problem."

"Yes, it will. But we and the other Horrormares can handle it."

"I do not doubt our abilities. But let us warn the others, for we do not want this new Fear Keeper taking us by surprise. _"_ And with that the two sets of eyes vanished, like candles being snuffed out by the wind. But Jack wasn't aware of them as he continued down the steps to the strange room below, oblivious to the world of danger he had just walked into.

 **AN: Hope you liked it! This is my first story, so some feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'll try to get the next chapter posted by the end of the month. So long for now, Starkeeper Queen! ^.^**


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